''Arman'' () is a 1953 Indian

Hindi-language Hindi (Devanāgarī: or , ), or more precisely Modern Standard Hindi (Devanagari: ), is an Indo-Aryan language spoken chiefly in the Hindi Belt region encompassing parts of northern, central, eastern, and western India. Hindi has been de ...

romantic drama film Romance films or movies involve romantic love stories recorded in visual media for broadcast in theatres or on television that focus on passion (emotion), passion, emotion, and the affectionate romantic involvement of the main characters. Typica ...

directed and produced by

Fali Mistry Fali Mistry (1919–1979) was an Indian cinematographer, who worked in Bollywood films, from the 1940s to 1980, both in black and white and colour cinema, and along with younger brother Jal Mistry, he was one of the most acclaimed cinematograph ...

. The music is composed by

S. D. Burman Sachin Dev Burman (1 October 1906 – 31 October 1975) was an Indian music director and singer. A member of the Tripura royal family, he started his career with Bengali films in 1937. He later began composing for Hindi movies and became one o ...

. ''Arman'' revolves around Radha (

Madhubala Madhubala (born Mumtaz Jehan Begum Dehlavi; 14 February 1933 – 23 February 1969) was an Indian actress and producer who worked in Hindi-language films. She ranked as one of the highest-paid entertainers in India in the post-independence era, ...

), a peasant girl who is fostered by her dead father's loyal servant Ramdas ( Jagirdar) so that she does not fall in clutches of her treacherous uncle Bahadur Singh ( K. N. Singh).

Dev Anand Dharamdev Pishorimal Anand (26 September 1923 – 3 December 2011), better known as Dev Anand, was an Indian actor, writer, director and producer known for his work in Hindi cinema, through a career that spanned over six decades. He was ...

stars as Radha's love interest Madan. ''Arman'' was theatrically released on 19 August 1953 and received mixed reviews from critics. Madhubala's and Jagirdar's performances were praised; but the music and Anand's performance were sharply criticised. Nevertheless, the film became a box office success. Since no print of the film is known to survive today, ''Arman'' is considered

lost Lost may refer to getting lost, or to: Geography *Lost, Aberdeenshire, a hamlet in Scotland * Lake Okeechobee Scenic Trail, or LOST, a hiking and cycling trail in Florida, US History *Abbreviation of lost work, any work which is known to have bee ...

today.

Plot

Ramdas, a poor noble soul ( Jagirdar) rears up the only daughter of his dead master away from his own home so that she may not fall into the clutches of her treacherous uncle, Bahadur Singh ( K. N. Singh). Baby Radha grows up to be a beautiful girl (

) and falls in love with the poet Madan (

), who happens to visit her village. Fate separates them and Radha is taken over by her uncle and taught to outgrow her peasant upbringing to become a swell girl. But her love for her foster father, now a dispiriterd rickshaw puller, flames again leading up to a climax.

Cast

as Madan *

as Radha *

Shakila Shakila Mohseni Sedaghat ( fa, شکیلا محسنی صداقت, Šakīlā Moḥsenī Sadāqat), known mononymously as Shakila ( fa, شکیلا, Šakīlā; born May 3, 1962), is an Iranian singer-songwriter based in San Diego, California. She is ...

as Roopa * K. N. Singh as Bahadur Singh * Jagirdar as Ramdas

Soundtrack

All music was composed by

Release

Critical reception

A review by ''

The Indian Express ''The Indian Express'' is an English-language Indian daily newspaper founded in 1932. It is published in Mumbai by the Indian Express Group. In 1999, eight years after the group's founder Ramnath Goenka's death in 1991, the group was split betw ...

'' in October 1953 appreciated the performances by Madhubala and Jagirdar and also the music, in contrast to a review by ''Cineplot'', which called it "too frequently hybrid". Regarding Madhubala, the critic commented that she "puts her part over with an allure, charm and sensitivity which are astoundingly, good." ''Cineplot'' concluded: "''Armaan'' makes for pleasurable entertainment despite its lack of logical cohesion due to the haphazard development of the key roles and the illogical actions of the characters." ''Thought'' was critical of the film's storyline, calling it a "sentimentalized rehash of a mediocre story", and Anand's performance, saying that he possesses "limited acting skills".

Box office

'' reported in October 1953 that the film is running to packed houses. At the end of its theatrical run, ''Armaan'' grossed 2.9 million at the box office to emerge as the ninth most successful film of 1953.

References

External links

*{{IMDb title, 0134292 1953 films Indian romantic drama films 1950s Hindi-language films Films scored by S. D. Burman Films directed by Fali Mistry